Pubs in the borough are performing so well that Camra members across Hinckley and Bosworth have named not one but two hostelries as winners of their 2015 Pub of the Year award.

For the first time, joint honours have gone to The Railway on Station Road and The Queens Head on Upper Bond Street in the town.

Members of the Hinckley and Bosworth branch of the Campaign for Real Ale voted on a range of criteria including quality of beer and cider, service and welcome, atmosphere and decor, community focus, sympathy with Camra aims and good value and could not separate the two top watering holes.

The winners were among 10 being considered for the title.

In addition, six clubs in the borough competed for the Club of the Year award which was won outright by Ashby Road Sports Club.

Presentations were made by Camra branch chairman David Finn at each venue on different evenings so that they could be attended by regulars and Camra members who shared celebratory drinks and buffets.

Ashby Road Sports Club in Hinckley has been named Hinckley and Bosworth Camra branch Pub of the Year 2015

* Ashby Road Sports Club has a long pedigree of Camra success.

It was Camra East Midlands Club of the Year in 2007 and 2008 then Hinckley and Bosworth Camra Club of the Year from 2010 to 2013 before repeating the achievement in 2015.

Hinckley and Bosworth Camra branch secretary Richard Lewin said: “The club hosts a wide range of sporting and social activities which make it very popular with the community.

“It held a beer festival earlier this year and has for many years successfully hosted the Camra Annual General Meeting.

“Stewardess Carolyn Turner, supported by her husband Ian, has done a wonderful job over the past 12 years and their contribution has been a key factor in the club winning this award, both in the past and in 2015.”

Club chairman Dave Fletcher and the club committee were also thanked.

* Former Marston’s pub The Railway was in decline when it was bought by the Steaming’ Billy Brewing Company in 2012.

Reopened after refurbishment in May 2013 Mr Lewin said: “It soon became a pub that appeals to all age groups and has become a popular local choice.”

In 2014 licensee Chris Allingham and the pub received a branch award for being a Pub of Distinction and a year on it is the branch’s joint Pub of the Year.

The Queens Head pub on Upper Bond Street, Hinckley, has been named joint Hinckley and Bosworth Camra branch Pub of the Year 2015

* The Queens Head has now won the Pub of the Year award for three years in a row.

Run by Phil and Dawn Jackson, the pub was also a candidate for this year’s East Midlands Pub of the Year for Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire, a title it missed out on by just one point in a meticulous scoring process to The Stilton Cheese in Somerby.

Mr Lewin said: “To win the award for three consecutive years shows that the pub is consistent in the quality of the beer, the welcome and the atmosphere and so it remains a popular choice for Camra members and non-members alike.

“Also the pub has a strong community focus and continues to raise a significant sum for charity each year.”